Ithaka
by Hayai Akurei
Summary: Coming home sure takes a long time.  Alternate ending as of Chapitre 166.


Ithaka

By Hayai Akurei

--((00))-((00))--

"_There's no place like home."_

_ Dorothy; the Wizard of Oz_

--((00))-((00))--

She could hear the frantic pattering of footsteps long before the messenger ever even showed up in the throne room. With a loud bang, the front door swung open and the frantic man managed to make a bow to the young princess by Souma's side, flanked by two other soldiers. He was moving so fast, the kunoichi was surprised that he didn't crack himself upside the head on the floor by accident.

"Tsukiyomi-sama! Pardon me for such disrespect, but this is very important! There is a foreigner who demands an audience with you!"

Souma raised a slender eyebrow at the messenger, who was quite clearly scared out of his boots.

"Demands? Don't you mean 'request'?"

He shook his head frantically, bowing to the chief of the personal palace guards. "No, I mean 'demands'! He threatened to let himself in if he had to!"

The dreamseer looked thoughtful for a moment, before smiling warmly. "Then by all means, let him in."

"Tsukiyomi-sama!" protested the other guards, "You surely cannot be serious! Letting in a stranger by his own order!"

"It's all right," she reassured them, violet eyes warm and gentle, "He won't harm anyone, even if he says that he will. Besides, we won't have to replace the front gates this way."

The messenger bowed obediently, even though the expression on his face doubted her decision. "If that is what you will, Your Highness."

--((00))-((00))--

Not too long after, Tsukiyomi and her guard had assembled into the secondary throne room, waiting for their guests to be escorted in.

One of Souma's new trainees stood rigidly on the dais next to Tsukiyomi's seat. What kind of callous behavior was this? A foreigner just simply decides to waltz in and demands to see the Dreaming Princess? The man had absolutely no manners or decorum of any kind. He hated people like that. They thought that they deserved respect from everyone, without doing anything to really earn it.

The door guards turned, tapping the ends of their banner staves on the floor, heralding their visitor's arrival.

Beside him, Souma sucked in an almost inaudible breath as the tall figure stepped through the throne room doors.

The cadet blinked at their guests: not just a single man, but a couple, regally striding together into the room. They looked like complete opposites; the man was tall and dark while his fair-haired companion stood about a head shorter than he, an image of pristine white beauty.

Automatically, the soldiers standing at the base of dais blocked the strangers' way with their spears, causing them to stop.

"Your sword," one said to the man, indicating with his eyes the handle that stuck out from beneath the man's cape. It was a blacksmith's masterpiece: a silver-hilted longsword encrusted with overlapping golden discs around the handle, and a pommel of similar silver metal extending into a finely crafted dragon head with tiny inlaid rubies for eyes.

"I'll keep it, thanks."

"Now see here! In the presence of Her Majesty, you must – "

Red eyes flared briefly. "I know the protocol."

"Then relinquish your weapon at once!"

A wicked smile crossed the man's features, and the guard felt a shuddering chill rush through his spine. He was looking into the eyes of a trained killer, someone who could strike another down without any qualms whatsoever; however, the man merely stood there, silently taunting him.

"Just try and take it from me – if you can."

"You will pay for your insolence, you – "

A soft voice interrupted him. "Leave him be."

The soldier gawked, watching as Tsukiyomi descended gracefully from the dais, her mauve robes billowing about her almost like smoke.

"Y-Your Highness!" he began to protest, but she held up a slender hand, and he quickly fell silent, stepping back so to let the visitors come forward.

The guest was quite clearly Japanese, the guard deduced, though his slight accent suggested that he was not native to the capital. Perhaps an emissary from one of the southern provinces? He was no foreigner. The word seemed more appropriate to describe the slender stranger standing next to him.

She had white skin unlike anything he had ever seen, and her hair was a delicate shade of golden yellow, much like the jasmine that grew in florid abundance around the perimeter of Shirasaki Castle during the summer. And her eyes. Her eyes were an exquisite celestial blue, something he'd only ever seen in sapphires, a rare gemstone imported from overseas. They contrasted wonderfully with the military-cut fur coat that she wore, accented with dark belts and golden buckles.

The young guard felt his face heat up slightly when he caught himself staring, averting his eyes; and yet he found that he could not keep his gaze from wandering back.

An odd couple, if he was any judge, but a charming one nevertheless.

She held the hand of the taller figure beside her, their fingers interlocked almost lovingly as they crossed the short gap between them and the princess, stopping a few steps in front of her. With perfect synchronicity and easy grace, they both bowed respectfully to their host.

"Kurogane," the princess said warmly with a smile.

The name hit the cadet like a ton of bricks. Kurogane? This man was Kurogane? The most notorious member of Tsukiyomi's elite private guard? He was widely spoken of, particularly his unparalleled skill in battle and merciless hand. But not only was he famous for being the most efficient and bloodthirsty of the royal ranks, he was also a Southron lord: the Ginryuu heir apparent of Suwa.

His eyes darted back to the sword at the man's waist. There was no mistaking it now, the pride of the lords of the South that also served as their sigil: Ginryuu the Silver Dragon. It was no wonder that he refused to give it up.

There had been tales of how Tsukiyomi had sent him on a journey in hopes that he would achieve some measure of self-actualization; other stories said that she had forced him to retire. Each story was different from the next, the details growing more outlandish and bizarre with each telling.

He could only wonder if the man was as half as terrifying as he sounded.

--((00))-((00))--

Kurogane straightened up, looking down at his princess somewhat warily, as if afraid she'd send him off again. Quite frankly, he wouldn't put it past her to do so.

"Tomoyo."

A vague hiss of disapproval echoed amid the throne room at his _very_ familiar use of her real name, but he ignored it, as always.

"Kurogane!" chastised Souma, coming to stand beside the princess. "After all this time, you still haven't learned to address Her Highness properly!"

"Ask me if I give a damn," he retorted. A bubbling feeling welled up in his chest at the prospect of a fight – even if it was a verbal smackdown between the kunoichi and himself. Oh gods, how he'd missed those.

"It's all right you two," said Tomoyo, smiling as her two closest bodyguards appeared to gear up for another one of their arguments, albeit their first one in a long time. It brought back a sense of nostalgia, one that was oddly comforting. "It's been too long, Kurogane. I am glad to see that you have returned to us safely."

"And I am glad to be home," he said. There was a small tug at his hand, and he gathered up some semblance of etiquette, gesturing to his companion.

"Forgive me, princess. May I introduce to you to Yuui, one of my traveling companions."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, my lady," he said as he stepped forward, taking her hand and kissing the back of it. She giggled.

"My, you have brought home such a charming young man, Kurogane. You keep such surprising company," Tomoyo complimented, then turning her gaze back to the blonde. "Will you be staying with us long?"

"As long as Her Highness will permit me," replied Yuui.

"Yes, he will," Kurogane corrected gruffly, giving the man a snorting glare and grabbing his hand once again.

"Wonderful!" she exclaimed, "Now, we have so much to catch up on! Let's go somewhere a bit more private where we can talk. You simply must fill me in on every detail of your adventure!" Excitedly, she took hold of Yuui's free hand and reached out to take Kurogane's, but he shied away.

"Don't worry; I still know how to get there," he grumbled. "My memory isn't _that_ bad."

She gave him a lingering look, but resumed her happy chatter, half-leading, half-dragging the two men down the hall in her excitement. And as they left, Kurogane heard one of the guards curse, muttering about androgynous foreigners.

--((00))-((00))--

Author's Note: And that's chapter one! And I'm sorry for the many changes in the point of view. This will be a short series, just a kind of post-manga thing. Nothing is definite, because we don't know how long the series is set to be, so it might be a long time coming before the very end. I know the story has gone further than this, but this was my interpretation of it when Chapitre 166 came about.


End file.
